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Well worth the tiny investment which could save you hundreds of pounds on a long haul flight.

Heavy duty handy scales.

I bought this little gem on impulse when I was filling up with petrol one day rather than searching for this handy gadget. I always fret over whether our suitcases were overweight and trying to deduct my weight by standing on bathroom scales and then deduct my weight from the reading on the scales which is perhaps not the most scientific way of weighing our bags especially as it is probably not very accurate to do so. When travelling my wife she is the worst over packer going especially when we have been to visit her family. I am usually dispatched somewhere so they don't let me see what they are packing for example coconuts and other daft stuff mangoes etc... Hello we can buy them in our supermarkets!!!! I did my nut on one occasion when her hand baggage alone was 32 kilo and that was despite us having a double allowance and travelling with four suitcases.

The scales!

The scales are about six inches in length and about four inches wide. There is a carry handle at one end of the scales which folds down into a more compact size and a large hook at the other end to hang the bag on. The dial is white with black numerals on the dial which makes it nice and clear to see what the weight is. There are two indicators one red and one yellow. The weights are given in metric or by imperial measures. For you youngsters out there imperial measures are what we oldies are used to and include pounds and ounces for those of you who do not know. There is also a handy tape measure incorporated into the unit measuring up to 39 inches or 100cm.

Excess weight.

I imagine travelling with women is always difficult as they tend to pack anything and everything kitchen sink et al whereas as a bloke we tend to pack the practical stuff only. The last thing you want is to turn up at the airport on the way home to be hit by terribly high excess baggage charges.

Some airlines are becoming quite increasingly obsessed about the weight of items because extra weight can increase the amount of fuel required for the flight. If luggage was not weighed you would hardly want the plane to run out of fuel half way across the Atlantic. Some airlines are becoming increasingly miserly in their baggage allowance and I can think of one in particular where the hand baggage was only five kilos which is an incredibly small allowance and they even weighed the hand luggage to make sure that you stuck to the rules!

Of course excess baggage charges are ridiculous on one occasion when I took someone to the airport their excess baggage charge would have been the same as paying for an adult ticket to fly. I made them take out essentials and repack the case at the airport and brought one case home with me until I flew out a couple of months later. This could have all been avoided had we used a scale. Most airlines allow 20kg per case and some of the budget airlines considerably less but you need to check each individual airline as they have different allowances and it can also depend on your destination and what class you are travelling in for example flying to the USA you can take more suitcases with you than with other destinations.

How to use!

Make sure that the yellow and red indicators are level by adjusting the yellow indicator knob turning it back to zero. Place the hook around the handle of your case or bag you are going to weigh and then lift it and put it down again. The red indicator forces the yellow indicator round and when the weight is released it leaves the yellow indicator showing you what the weight of the case or bag is. It is quite a simple and useful gadget and weighs in at only about five or six ounces so it is not that heavy to take with you.

It is a simple, effective and easy to use gadget that can help cut the cost of unusually high excess baggage charges.

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A great little gadget to own

I was given my luggage suitcase weigh scale by my mum and dad a few years ago, as they rarely used it, and my wife and I do travel quite a lot.I was a bit skeptical about it at first, as it looked a little bit cheap and nasty, and I thought I would not bother using it much, but it has turned out be very handy indeed and it has had a lot of use over the last few years.

So - What is it?

Basically it is a handheld weigh scale designed for weighing a variety of items, but is mainly used to weigh suitcases and bags to determine whether or not they are within the acceptable baggage weight limits for a flight.The body of the devise is made from a black plastic material, and above this is a large circular white scale, measuring from 0 - 32 kilograms or 0 - 72 pounds on the other side of the scale. A bright red pin sits in the centre of the scale, and rotates to tell you the weight of the object which is attached to the big metal hook at the bottom of the black plastic body.

To weigh an object it is simply a case (pardon the pun) of connecting the metal around the handle of the suitcase (or other object), and lifting the weigh scale into the air, which will in turn lift the suitcase into the air, and give a reading to determine the weight of the suitcase.

I have found this little handheld weigh scale to be very accurate indeed. My last holiday was to Turkey back in August, and we had a 15 kg limit in our cases for a 10 day holiday which was always going to be a bit on the tight side - especially for my wife who likes to take the kitchen sink with her usually! By using this handheld scale, I was able to make sure that each suitcase was fully loaded right up to the 15 kg limit, making use of every bit of weight that I could, but without going over and risking a penalty fee at the airport, which I believe can be as much as £10 per Kg over weight!!! Once we got to the airport our cases both weighed 14.9 kg, so this shows that the scale is pretty accurate. Other people in our party were having to mess about changing luggage around from their cases and hand luggage, and putting extra layers of clothing on in an attempt to try and get within the acceptable weight limits, and this scale saved us from having to go through that drama.

Another little feature of the handheld weighing scale is that it has a built in tape measure at the bottom of it. This tape measure is retractable, and can measure up to 1 meter or 39 inches if preferred. This is designed primarily for measuring the dimensions of hand luggage to check that it is within the constraints set out for the airplane cabins.

Overall it is a useful little gadget to own. I was lucky enough to be given mine as a gift, but they are relatively cheap to buy at around £3 from places like Amazon. They would make an ideal gift for anyone who travels a lot, and they are nice and lightweight, and so they are easy to take away with you, to use for re-weighing the cases on the return journey, in the event that the case is fuller due to buying clothes, gifts, or duty free etc.It can be quite heavy to lift the weigh scale and the case into the air, and read what the scale is indicating at the same time, so it is easier to have one person lifting, and the other person looking for the weight. The hook is very strong, and as long as the suitcase in question has a suitable handle, then the hook will stay in place very well as the case is lifted into the air.

In summary it is very useful, and does save a lot of hassle at the airport for a cheap purchase price.

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Worth it if you are a travel worrier like me

Every time I go on a holiday where flight is involved I am a constant worrier and one of the things that I get some fussy about, like I am sure many people do, is being overweight with my cases. "Don't put this in" "you can't take that" are common nags Ill give to my partner for this very matter. So upon browsing Amazon online I somehow accidentally stumbled on this nifty little item....a luggage weigher! I had been meaning to get round to buying one of these for years and for only £1 this was the right time.

The item does what it says....weighs your luggage. You simple hook your bag to the bottom and the scale on the top will give you the weight in pounds and kilograms (up to 32kg). Works a treat. I have found it to be very very accurate as, without sounding like a nerd, the weights I remembered it weighing at home were almost to the exact amount the airport scales weighed up. All you need to do is check the airlines weigh allowance and weigh your bag.....bullseye! Takes a load off the mind and for £1 its worth getting that little bit of stress uplifted as we all know packing for a holiday and planning for a flight is one of the most stressful things you can do!

The item also includes a 1m Tape measure with it which I guess is intended to allow you to measure the sixes of your hand luggage adding that extra bit of peace of mind to travellers!

At the end of the day the item is not essential in any way but for £1 like I have said it provides you with that extra bit of peace of mind and ensures you not having to removed baked beans, shows and jumpers from your luggage at the check in!

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Recommended!

I bought the luggage scale a few months ago from very.co.uk for around £3; I'm not sure if they are still in stock there but you can also buy them from Amazon for around £3.75.

The scale itself is 4.5 x 3 inches at the widest point; it then has a handle and hook that can be folded behind the unit, including them, the total length is 9 inches, so it's pretty compact. It will weigh items up to 32 Kg / 70 lbs, and measure anything up to 1 m / 39 inches.

It is mainly intended for use by travellers for weighing and measuring their suitcases to fit airline requirements, although it's a pretty handy device that will come in handy on many other occasions. Personally, I bought it for weighing my eBay items. I sometimes sell large and bulky things that are difficult to estimate, so having one of these handy is great to ensure that I can charge the correct postage fees.

To use the luggage scale, you should hold the handle and hook whatever you want to measure over the hook on the bottom, you then need to hold it straight when viewing the weight. If I am weighing something quite heavy that I can't lift to eye height, I find that it can sometimes be difficult to hold it straight while checking the weight. However, this would be true of all hand held luggage scales so I can't really fault this one for it.

The scale is pretty flimsy looking, but I've found that it is actually quite accurate. When you post things at the post office, the receipt tells you the weight of the item, I have compared 'my weight' to 'their weight' a few times and each time it has been pretty close.

The tape measure is the 'DIY' type of tape measure, a retractable metal one. It is very thin, 0.5 cm / 0.2 inches across, although the numbers and marking are still very clear and easy to read. The tapemeasure slides out easily and retracts back quickly without fault.

Overall, I am very impressed with my purchase; it is a useful little tool at a great price and I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

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Product Details

Luggage Suitcase Weigh Scale with Tape Measure, Portable baggage scales weighs up to 32KG, Equipped with a 1M Tape Measure, Light, Accurate, Sturdy, Never get caught out with an excess baggage charge again, 1 metre built-in tape measure included, Convenient measurements in lbs and Kgs Helps to ensure Maximum baggage allowance Avoid having to pull on three jumpers and four pairs of trousers at check-in with this handy pocket-sized Luggage Scale. With a nifty little tape measure for hand luggage worries as well, you'll be through to check-in and at the bar before you know it. And don't forget to take them with you for all those holiday purchases and souvenirs you bring back.